Day 40: Saigon bound!

Claire: I've had a congestion headache for a few days now so the flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was horrendous. The pressure in my ears still isn't right :( I must be poorly because on our arrival into the city we stumbled upon an exhibition open night at the Museum of Fine Arts and there was FREE WINE and I didn't even want one!! Woe is me. I blame all the airplane germs.

The Fine Art museum is in a super elegant 1920's colonial building with marble floors and Parisian style wrought-iron balconies. The exhibition was a collaboration between 3 artists and a French-Belgium-Vietnamese art college. We didn't understand a word anybody was saying in the opening speech but we smiled and clapped anyway. There was some really nice etchings on display and although I only had my phone to take snaps I hope the below shows some of the beauty...

Our hotel is located in District 1, smack bang in the middle of the city and it seems we're surrounded with so many cool bars and restaurants! We find Marcel, a trendy burger joint for some comfort food before heading back to our hotel. I think I'll have an early night tonight... I mean it is 8:35pm, that's kinda past my bedtime thesedays anyway.

Gav's day 40 takeaway

• We've noticed how very prompt the Vietnamese are. If you say a time, they'll be there 15 minutes before. Or perhaps it's just that they drive like such maniacs, they're always earlier than they should be. Our taxi driver from the airport had some spacial awareness skills the like I've never seen before. I find it mental. Fascinating but mental.
• Another common theme of our rapport with young Vietnamese men is for them to shout "FOOTBALL" at you when they learn you're from England. Usually followed by the words "Chelsea" and "Manchester City", glory supporters. One guy even noted my town of birth and shouted "Blackburn Rovers" at me with a big grin on his face. Decent knowledge for an 18 year old.